British Gems

I love British Films. I love the feel of them. From their quirky strangeness to their sobering reality, their black humour to their sometimes dark sinister slants. I lived in America for many years and whenever a British film came on it felt like coming home. I remember as a child a series by Anglia Television called ‘Best of British’ wherein the greats of British Cinema would be celebrated, analysed and discussed. The show would always close with soul stirring montages; Laurence Olivier in gleaming armour atop a proud horse, Sherlock Holmes striding through a swirl of white mist that clung to his ankles, Julie Christie reaching a desperate hand through a Venetian gate, breathing the world ‘darling’ to her soon to be murdered husband, Richard E Grant, hammering out an impassioned soliloquy, drenched in whisky and ruin, Kenneth Williams nostrils flaring, Barbara Windsor bra flinging. A mishmash of iconic moments which embodied all that was glorious and great about our nation’s celluloid masterpieces. Enjoy a few of my favourite here.

The Offence

A veteran British police inspector, Sgt. Johnson (Sean Connery), has grown increasingly disturbed by the rapes and murders he has investigated over the years. When he finds a young girl in the woods who has been raped, police begin searching for a suspect. When Kenneth Baxter (Ian Bannen) is brought in for questioning, Johnson snaps, beating him during an unauthorized interrogation. Lt. Cartwright (Trevor Howard) is then brought in to interview him about the incident.